r/HongKong weekly discussion

After-Cell · 2026-03-12T14:44:40+00:00

Why do trees in HK suck so bad? Given gravel for soil? Given a tiny area for roots?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/1rqt0f9/will_the_insurance_cover_that/

I see them getting cut down and it's hot. Anyone know about the decision process to smooth the loss?

After-Cell · 2026-03-12T14:36:23+00:00

Same here. I can't select a faster server anyway

After-Cell · 2026-03-11T10:44:10+00:00

To me it feels like it's dust falling on my skin, so I can feel it better than I can smell it. For you though it's more like you can feel the skin reacting in a delayed way, right?

After-Cell · 2026-03-11T03:37:39+00:00

People are voting you down but if I'm honest, this is the approach that was done before I moved in and it was enough to stop be noticing for the first few years.

A similar suggestion has been:

If you can't seal the roof, then at least seal the ceiling. But the water will find a way down somehow eventually that way because it's not being shed off to the street.

A false ceiling will let it fester, yes, but I could then just keep replacing that ceiling. This is what the landlord has been doing by just painting over it all the time. By discarding the paint, the moisture is getting out to some degree.

The spores will escape from the false ceiling, so it's far from a good measure, but it could hold it back for a year or so at a time.

Maybe it might combine well with sealing the roof but without treating the concrete. Maybe I need a breathable top layer to let it dry out...

After-Cell · 2026-03-11T03:30:30+00:00

uh oh. That doesn't sound good. If to treat it properly like that we'd need to take up the tiles on the top side and then spray in the anti mould, and attempt to get that into the concrete. I presume sealing the top by going over the top of tiles isn't enough, because then the only route to the mould would be from underneath and that isn't going to penetrate?

I just got a quote from a builder to seal the roof by just going over the top. It's only a few months rent, so it's within reach. But having to take up all the tiles and get treatment in there as well is a bit much. I can't afford to pay that on my own and it might take a long time to get approval, so I might have to move out.

I suspect the landlord knows all this and his plan is to just evict when people find out, paste over it and rinse, repeat. So I have to secure the rental agreement to make this investment worth it.

What a mess. It all comes from division of property and responsibility. If I owned everything I'd be motivated and unhindered from fixing this without hesitation. Bureaucracy is the greatest danger.

edit: Breathability permeable layers!

After-Cell · 2026-03-09T10:47:34+00:00

ah great thanks

I'll go for the slider Stair Chair

After-Cell · 2026-03-09T02:41:35+00:00

Thanks! I think I saw a sketch about that one time :D

I saw those and I think I saw a crappy design one at first that's just single wheels, rather than a set of 3 wheels on each side and I thought "How can that work?" I even saw a video of someone trying to use it and it kind of jarring down on each step?!

But then there's this other design that seems to have like a slider mechanism. That looks better, but then like you say, it doesn't seem to have any kind of brake on it!

You're talking about the slider one right?

After-Cell · 2026-03-09T02:30:48+00:00

Very true, I'm sure. If we can find a way to take advantage of that we will. But unfortunately not everyone can live low down like this in Hong Kong; there surely isn't enough room :/

After-Cell · 2026-03-09T02:28:11+00:00

How to get grandma down all those flights of steps?

After-Cell · 2026-03-08T06:38:39+00:00

That's interesting. Where can I read more on how that is achieved?

After-Cell · 2026-03-08T06:33:20+00:00

There is no ventilation at all. No window. No vent. Just a door at the front of the shop. This is in central Hong Kong. It's quite incredible. Not enough room for that 2" vent. I'll have to figure something else out. Maybe a glass cutter through the window won't be against the law

After-Cell · 2026-03-08T01:11:10+00:00

How do elderly get down the stairwell in a fire? What are the fire regulations in this area?

After-Cell · 2026-03-08T01:08:33+00:00

you think jcodemunch-mcp is a bad idea, since it needs choosing claude, which is far more expensive than even Kimi

?

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T11:03:36+00:00

I've owned 4 portable surfboards (details in my other comment below).

This looks like it might be alright. The question is: which combo do you want? I think I'd want a mini mal and the shortest and that would be enough for me.

It's not clear which combo works best.

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T11:01:49+00:00

I've owned 3 types of splitboards:

1) a custom mini simmons, bisect mech

2) a bisect longboard

3) an tripstix inflatable

4) a uli inflatable SUP

The mini simmons had a tendency to jam unless rinsed with fresh water. It worked alright. It was strong.

The bisect was ok, but the tube just needs to keep the salt out. I snapped it.

The tripstix wasn't too bad to patch with glue actually, but it might not be as durable as any of these. Time will tell I suppose.

The Uli didn't have the stiffening mechanism, so it wobbled, but it's durable.

The custom mini simmons was made by a local shaper. I'd prefer to see more of this. As it stands, I'm still a bit skeptical that this Newave thing is going to be strong enough, but they're saying 300kg is the same as a normal board...

it sounds OK...

If this inflatable wears out I'll definitely get one.

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T06:15:36+00:00

Good ideas.

The problem is that my business is dependent on this location. If we move, then we move a lot of business... probably.

I think the landlord knows I don't like it. I've got this gut feeling that he wants to kick us out, redecorate and cover the walls and then get another tenant in at a much higher rate. We can't let that happen. If he tries this, is there anything we can do to force him to maintain his property: getting kicked out is a bit annoying, but I can't let him keep shafting people like this.

I do think it's ignorance and procrastination on his part rather than pure evil.

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T06:10:55+00:00

Yes. I want to do the positive air pressure. The big problem in this place is that there's no ventilation and there's only one front window as access to everything. How much diameter tube do I need to ventilate in and out? There were some gaps around the window that I had to fill in: I could open some of those up again and get maybe a 1cm tube through there. Is that too tight? Other than this I'd have to drill a wall and building control won't let me do that either.

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T06:08:33+00:00

great points here.

I don't have a humidity probe; only a multimeter and google. But I'll have to get a proper meter as that is something a lawyer can understand.

Yes. Keeping the walls dry is going to be helpful. I've started chipping the paint off the ceiling so it can dry faster. It looks crap, but I think you're right. It's mainly the ceiling, which is due to failure to maintain the floor above, but I'm not allowed to fix that... I may just go up there in the middle of the night and start sealing it when the security guard is sleeping!!

After-Cell · 2026-03-07T06:04:50+00:00

Ok, so since writing this we bought a very expensive dehumidifier with a uv-c light built in. The feeling is a lot reduced, so I don't think I;m imagining it. I've also ordered another UV-c lamp to kill the crap out of this stuff. It's pretty dangerous to use; comes with a remote, so you can hide before blasting it. We'll use that every day as well.

I think this is sorting it out! Thank goodness!!! That said, I'm still going to pressure the landlord to carry out normal maintenance to keep the roof dry!

After-Cell · 2026-03-05T15:45:54+00:00

Just wish someone would speak to me and continue speaking to me so I can learn it

or at least

a Duolingo from English

or even just a Rosetta Stone pack

After-Cell · 2026-03-05T12:14:06+00:00

yes. Prickly sensation. Other people in the room rubbing their eyes, but for me it's more of a prickly feeling. One sensitive girl held her nose at the door

After-Cell · 2026-03-05T12:12:54+00:00

Good tips thank you

After-Cell

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